(Closed) The man suite? harder to figure out then I though.

I have an ivory dress for our Oct 2nd wedding in the woods. We had aggreed from the begining that we were going to find him an awsome three peice suite, get it tailored. Possibility of he and the “boys” wearing the vest for the ceramony. We both loved this idea. Now that we went to look for a three peice suite we been told by several suite sale’s people that they are going out of fashion and hard to find. We are not so concerned with fashion but are having a hard time finding one.

We did find a favorite suite but it is expensive. It is in a very dark brown which I love next to my dress. If we got him this I would have all the other men in the same color pants ivory shirts and matching ties.

Questions?

How much should we spend on a good suite? The favorite could be paid off immediately not on credit but VERY expensive.

Is it strange to have a groom in full suite and men in just shirts and ties?

Wear can we find dark brown suite to rent? vests?

Would a charcoal suite be better or would charcoal look weird with an ivory dress and ivory shirts.

I should add I guess that the ladies are wearing long dresses in a purpleish indigo.

Sorry this is so scattered. Thank you for all your help. I want things to look coordinated but I am having trouble doing so in my head.

First, your sales people are morons: three peice suits aren’t out of style. They just don’t have any in stock and are trying to sell you what they have: two-piecers. There aren’t as many occassions for three-piece suits, so a lot of places will just keep two-piecers in stock since they sell better. But 3-pieces aren’t out of style and will never be out of style. Things that will go in and out of style will be the cut, fit, shoulder size, lapel size, button stance, etc. but not the 3 pieces. Just note that he’ll probably never wear the vest again in his life, unless he has something a bit more formal or business-like to attend. In reality, men are lazy and even in the business world, won’t don the vest because they cry discomfort or will get made fun of by shlubby-looking co-workers who are ashamed that he looks fancy and they look like they are half-assing their way through life. So yes, most men (even professionals) are half-assing their way through life in terms of grown-up men’s clothing—so most men aren’t wearing 3-piecers unless they are giving a closing argument on trial or they are going to a Mad Men costume party.

How much should we spend on a good suite? The favorite could be paid off immediately not on credit but VERY expensive.

What’s “expensive” and “good” depends on your financial situations. Just start with a budget and find the best suit for your dollar. Just remember that it’s better to have a cheaper suit that’s tailored to fit him perfectly, than a more expensive suit that has had no tailoring done. But, to answer your question, IMHO any suit under $300 is probably in the “budget” category and should be considered serviceable and “fine”—not a “great suit.” There are folks who will tell you that you can’t get a “good” suit for under $800. Or $1500. So it’s all subjective and depends on your budget. What makes a suit “good” depends on factors like material (wool v poly blend, etc) and construction (half-canvased, full-canvased, no-canvas, etc.). If $300 is more than you want to spend, then ignore construction, and just make sure that it’s a breathable fabric. You can get 100% wool three-piece suits for $150 at Sears and Target. The best news is that nobody I know can tell the difference between a $150 suit and a $500 suit.

Would a charcoal suite be better or would charcoal look weird with an ivory dress and ivory shirts.

YES: a charcoal suit will be better if you are going the route of purchasing a suit. A brown suit really isn’t very versatile and finding one that you like will be more difficult than locating a charcoal three-piecer—which are all over the place. A man should own black, grey and blue before branching off into suits that are brown or green, etc.

NO: No color of mens’ suits will look weird standing next to a woman in an ivory dress. I take that back… maybe white. White would be the one color of suit that I think would be inappropriate with an ivory wedding dress. Charcoal will be fine.